So, what did you get yourself for the holidays?


My guess is that most of us are "hard to buy for". That said, I get my own presents.

Outside of audio, this holiday season I treated myself to a 3D printer (Bambu Lab P1S), a ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope, and I will be ordering a PiFinder for my 20" telescope next week.

In the world of audio I upgraded my Rogue Cronus Magnum II to the III. I added the home theater feature so I can put a tube pre-amp between my DAC and the amp at a later date. And since they had the amp in the shop I added a processor loop in the event my hearing would benefit from additional processing in years to come. I'm a small spender for this group and I expect this is my ultimate amp. I will upgrade other components over time, but this is making me very happy right now. Besides, my astronomy hobby is where most of my extra money goes. 

I've been playing the CR III for the past week and it is an amazing upgrade. It also helps that my backup amp was a major step down and since I hand delivered and picked up the amp I've been without the CM since October.

As far as the new amp goes, I love the triode mode and the phono pre-amp is noticeably improved. I'll test out the new headphone circuit in January, I don't use headphones often so I won't be able to weigh in on any improvement, just the end result.

So, what did you get for yourself?

 

 

 

markcasazza

Nothing specific for the holidays. 
But 2025 was a big year for audio system upgrades. It was a gradual process throughout the year. 
 

McIntosh DS200 streaming DAC

McIntosh MHA200 headphone amp 

Grado RS1x headphones

Legacy Audio Studio HD surround speakers

Legacy Audio Foundation subs x 2

All new cabling. ALL. Speaker, IC, HDMI, Power.  Everything. 

Dedicated 20A isolated ground circuit for audio gear only

So it was an expensive year and I’m tapped out for a while. But everything added in significant ways to my love and enjoyment of my system. Happy New Year!!

A Manley Massive Passive tube equalizer.  I can’t wait to fiddle with sound curves and the like! :)

I also got a Bryston 4B cubed for my second system- retiring my beloved Audio Research VT130SE.  The old girl made me so happy for so many years, but her bass was flabby.  Time for a younger tighter model. 

Some new cables on the audio side (Veritas Cables like @lanx0003 posted above), and a new shotgun in the miscellaneous category. So far enjoying my choices in both areas.

Hello and “End of Seasons Greetings”.

Santa treated himself to an Eversolo DMP-A8 Streamer. My entry into the wide world of streaming after much research.

Enjoy the music. 

Upgraded (imo) my phono stage from an Accuphase C-37 to a Gold Note PH-1000

Could not be happier making this move.